Fingertips
by paigemccullers
Summary: "So, what you guys talking about?" Paige looked around the girls. "We were discussing Hanna's new make up style." Emily gestured to the blonde at the other side of the table. "We're calling it, 'pelted by charcoal'." Spencer sniped. Paige could feel Emily's eyes, her skin practically burning under her gaze. Takes place two weeks after Jenna's party. Spoilers for season 3.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The cool breeze splayed reddish brown hair over her eyes, obstructing her view of the girl at the other end of the courtyard. She pressed her body into the brick pillar, peering around the corner, just enough to get a clear view. She dragged her fingertips across her forehead, ridding the hair from her eyes. She stopped when she felt a bump, the scar.

It'd been almost two weeks since the _incident_. Two weeks of silence and nothing. She'd been avoiding everyone, _especially_ Emily Fields and her little group of friends. She'd barely spoken a word to her parents, partly due to the fact that they'd hardly let her get a word in anyway.

Avoiding Emily had been harder than expected, she was in about three of her classes and each time the lesson finished, she scrambled to get out of the room and out of sight before Emily could catch up with her. She was embarrassed and she could hardly remember anything from that night, what if she'd said something?

Anyway, avoiding the girls was probably easier for everyone. They all seemed really happy. Emily seemed really happy. The last thing she remembered from that night was Emily giving her a look. A look of sadness or maybe hurt? Either way, Paige was the cause of that look and she didn't want that. She wanted Emily to smile, she wanted her eyes to light up like a child's on Christmas morning, she wanted her nose to scrunch up just that little bit when she laughed.

Paige noticed that those things never happened when she was around the girl. It made her heart sink like a rock in the ocean whenever she thought about it. Emily wanted to be 'just friends' with her, but Paige was beginning to think maybe that wasn't even an option.

Paige was brought out of her thoughts when she saw Emily tilt her head back, laughter cascading from her lips, presumably at something Spencer had said to Hanna. Hanna was scowling at the taller brunette as said girl just quirked an eyebrow. Paige gave a halfhearted smile. It must be nice to have friends.

She huffed out a sigh and hugged her books closer to her chest as she twisted to walk away. She nearly dropped everything when a tiny figure blocked her path, arms crossed, head falling the side just a tad.

Paige looked to the ground, gaining her bearings. The figure in front of her unfolded her arms and softened her expression.

"Aria." Paige flicked her eyes up to greet the girl momentarily before choosing to look anywhere else.

"Paige, what are you doing?" Aria peered over Paige's shoulder to see her friends sitting at a table eating lunch. "Why don't you just come sit with us?" Paige let out a quick, dry laugh before shaking her head, a little bit flustered.

"I was just going to uh-" She wracked her brain for anything, anything at all. "I was going to the library to study."

Aria folded her arms again and cocked her hip a little. An unimpressed look worked its way onto her features.

"Why are you avoiding us? More importantly, why are you avoiding Emily?" Aria felt strangely empowered by her words. Usually it was Hanna that did all the down-talking or Spencer but since Jenna's birthday, Emily had been a lot quieter. Aria had caught her staring at the back of Paige's head in class quite a lot, not to mention the fact that she'd almost chased after the girl every single time she'd left the room.

"I'm- I'm not avoiding you." Paige looked up to meet Aria's gaze only to drop it again, she was quite a good liar. That was, until it came to Emily and her friends, they always seemed to be a step ahead.

"Paige, will you just come and sit with us for lunch? Please?" Aria pouted, Paige almost smiled at the childlike girl. She was actually pretty persuasive, not to mention cute. Paige's eyes widened and she shook her head. Thank god people couldn't hear her thoughts.

"I'm fine really. I'm just gonna-" Paige pointed in the direction of the library and moved a step.

"Hey guys look who I found!" Aria yelled across the quad to the table of girls who all spun in their direction. Paige glowered at Aria who quickly shrugged and flashed a smug smile. Paige shot a look over her shoulder to see if they'd actually seen her. Her eyes immediately connected with Emily's. Emily was smiling and automatically, so was she. Emily gave a coy wave and a small gesture signaling for her to join them.

"Come on." Aria chirped up, grabbing Paige's arm and pulling her towards the table.

"You're strong for a midget." Paige mumbled.

"I heard that." Aria growled playfully, dropping Paige's arm as they reached the table. Out of all the girls, Aria was probably the one Paige had gotten to know more, besides Emily, obviously. She liked the girl, they even went shopping together one day. She trusted her and she was pretty sure Aria trusted her back. Well, she almost did anyway.

"Hi." Paige looked down when she heard the timid voice and immediately melted. Emily was looking up at her from her place on the bench; her eyes were so pretty and smoky, the way Emily looked at her, it made her feel light.

It took Aria clearing her throat for Paige to realize she'd been stood there saying nothing and staring at Emily for about a minute.

"Hey, I- can I sit with you?" Paige stumbled across her words. Emily giggled quietly and moved her bag from the space next to her. Paige shot her a smile before perching next to her, leaving a respectful gap between them. Not that she wanted to, she just needed too. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Aria and Hanna grinning at each other. They obviously had been planning this.

"So…" Paige shook her bag off her shoulder and placed it on the ground between her feet. "What you guys talking about?" Paige looked around the girls, her eyes stopping on Spencer, the girl was giving her a look. She couldn't quite decipher it, but she decided it'd be better not to dwell.

"We were discussing Hanna's new make up style." Emily gestured to the blonde at the other side of the table in between Aria and Spencer. Hanna raised her upper lip in disgust.

"We're calling it, 'pelted by charcoal'." Spencer cocked her head to the side while forking a heap of salad into her mouth. Paige laughed as Hanna hit her head against the table repeatedly.

"Your eyeliner is darker than usual." Aria nodded turning to inspect Hanna's eyes closer. Hanna frowned at her and attempted to bite her nose. Aria squirmed out of the way.

"I had an extra ten minutes. I was bored. Let me eat my bacon in peace jeez." Hanna picked up her bacon sandwich and took a bite, narrowing her eyes at Spencer.

Paige could feel Emily's gaze on her, it was practically burning her skin but she refused to turn to look at her. All she'd been doing recently was avoiding the girl and now she was sat inches away from her, it was hard enough, she didn't need any intense eye contact or cutesy Emily things to make her walls come crumbling down. Besides, Emily wanted to be _just friends_.

The girls fell into silence as they ate. Paige pulled an apple from her bag and took small bites. The quiet wasn't exactly awkward but it wasn't comforting either.

"I haven't seen you around lately." Emily had somehow managed to shuffle closer to Paige without her knowing, touching their shoulders together. Hanna took this as her queue to start up another conversation with Spencer and Aria, letting Emily and Paige have their privacy. Paige pulled her lips to the side thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I know. I just have stuff, you know…" Paige trailed off, turning to Emily finally. She saw the crease in between the girl's eyebrows and the concern in her eyes. It would have been adorable if Paige didn't feel like crap for being the one making her worry. "Everything's fine."

"We missed the Katy Perry movie." Emily sighed, her bottom lip sticking out a little. Paige had to smile then, Emily was so damn cute.

"There'll be other movies, Emily." The smile that shot onto Emily's lips startled Paige. All Emily wanted was for Paige to act normally around her again and those words were progress even though Paige didn't know it.

Emily shot a sideways glance at her best friends to make sure they weren't listening in before turning in her seat so she could talk to Paige head on. Paige mirrored Emily's movements, feeling a relaxing warmth rush over her. Emily looked around warily before opening her mouth to speak.

"Come with me to see the new Ice Age film?" Paige's eyebrows shot up, a look of amusement covering her features. Emily rolled her eyes and ducked her head. Paige looked around to check that no one was listening. Emily was obviously embarrassed and it made her fall even harder.

"Ice Age? You into cartoons, Em?" Emily felt her heart beat a little faster at the use of her nickname. When Aria or Spencer or Hanna used it, she felt like it was just a name but when Paige used it, it just sounded way better. Emily shook her head, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Shut up." She hissed through gritted teeth, smiling like a complete idiot. "I just really like Ice Age. It makes me feel like a kid." Emily did that scrunchy thing with her nose; the thing Paige was dreading the most. It was actually the cutest thing in the world and how she was still alive after that she did not know. She was pretty sure a soft sigh had escaped her lips but was quick to cover it up.

"I like Manny the mammoth, he's an ass. He reminds me of me." Paige nodded approvingly to herself. Emily tilted her head to the side, admiring the way the light wind made Paige squint to stop her hair from going in her eyes. She knew she'd told Paige that she just needed a friend and to be honest, she did.

But Paige made her nervous, she kept her on edge, she made her laugh, she made her smile. Paige made her feel again. After Maya died, Paige was the first one to make her smile with her eyes, the first to make her laugh without a care, the first to tell her it was okay to cry. Everything Paige had done had made her fall for her more and more without even realizing. She had needed a friend. She needed more now.

"I like Manny too." Emily whispered. Paige just looked at the girl, her mouth slightly agape. "So, will you come with me? You don't have to, I just don't want to sit in there with a bunch of 5 year olds on my own." Emily shrugged, dipping her head shyly again.

Paige quickly went over the options in her head. She could say yes and take Emily to watch the movie and torture herself with the fact that she can't have her or she could say no and have Emily look like someone had slapped her with a wet fish again. She would rather hurt herself than hurt Emily. She only wanted to protect Emily, from everything bad ever.

"Sure." Emily bounced in her seat and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Thank you!" Paige couldn't stop the bubbles of laughter leaving her lips, seeing Emily happy made her happy and for now, that was enough.

* * *

Spencer side eyed the two girls at the other side of the table. They were both smiling, talking in hushed voices. Aria leaned around Hanna; Spencer copied her movements until they were in their own little circle.

"I'm getting good vibes, are you getting good vibes? I'm vibrating at a high frequency right now, I'm sure that's a good sign." Hanna lowered her voice so only the other two girls could hear. Spencer and Aria looked at each other with wide eyes then turned to Hanna simultaneously. Hanna looked at both of them in turn. "No! Ew, get your minds out of the gutter."

"All I got out of their conversation was something about a mammoth." Aria speculated.

"Are you taking your vitamins?" Hanna raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her friend. Aria glared at the blonde, slapping her shoulder. "Hey!"

"Behave or I will ground you both." Spencer spoke quickly out of the side of her mouth. "I heard something about going to the movies."

"Do you think it's working?"

"What's working?"

"The plan! Christ, Hanna." Hanna pulled a face at Aria who pulled one back.

"The plan was to get them talking again. Their mouths are moving and words are coming out and they're facing each other so I think it worked." Spencer spoke with a forceful hushed tone.

"Spencer your hair is tickling my nose."

"I'm sorry on behalf of my hair." Spencer rolled her head from left to right, helping to convey the sarcastic tone in her voice. Aria laughed at Hanna's solemn facial expression.

"Shut up short ass."

* * *

"So I'll pick you up from yours at 7?" Emily asked the girl across from her, completely aware of the smile that hadn't left her lips for the entire conversation. Paige nodded once, picking up her bag and books.

"I'll see you at 7." Paige stood and threw her apple core in a nearby wastebasket. "I'll see you guys later." Paige smiled at the other three girls who all quickly turned to look at her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the smiling teens but let whatever they were doing slide. "Aria I have the notes you wanted, I'll give them to you next class?"

"Sure!" Aria answered way too quickly. Paige cocked her head to the side but decided it'd be best to just leave. She moved away, turning to look over her shoulder to get one last look at Emily. She felt her face turn hot when she saw Emily looking back. Her heart fluttered, she got out of there as fast as she could.

As soon as Paige was out of sight, Hanna, Aria and Spencer all turned to Emily, the same smile on each of their lips, the kind of smile that screams '_tell me everything or I'll hurt you'_.

"What?" Emily shrugged, trying to act casually but the lasting smile that Paige had given her still hadn't worn off.

"What were you talking about?" Spencer piped up wiggling in her seat impatiently. Emily looked to the side mysteriously; she knew how much Spencer hated it when she didn't answer her immediately. She could almost see the pain on Spencer's face from not knowing.

"You are torturing her." Aria gestured to Spencer.

"Torturing Spencer is fun." Emily laughed; Spencer's demeanor immediately fell, a scowl taking the place of the former smile.

"You're hilarious." Spencer deadpanned.

"We're just going to the movies."

"You're gonna make out."

"Hanna!"

"Let's be real here people." Hanna threw her hands out to the sides. Emily just rolled her eyes.

"What film are you going to see?" Spencer questioned, Emily gave her the same mysterious look she had given her just a minute ago.

"Why do you hate me?"

"I have to get to class, I'll text you later." Emily stood abruptly, a sly smile painted across her lips. She gathered her things and walked off, waving in the process.

"I'm going to lie down." Spencer feigned distress and took off in the opposite direction.

"Drama queen."

"That's coming from you." Aria shot Hanna a look of mock disgust. Hanna glowered at the side of Aria's face.

"You're short."

* * *

_Hi! So i was thinking that this would be a three parter or maybe a two-shot. It'll probably end up in three parts 'cause i ramble. If you could tell me what you think in a review, that'd be awesome. Thanks for reading, the next chapter should be up soon!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow, okay, never thought i'd be saying this but, spoilers for Ice Age 4._

**Chapter 2**

Paige glared at herself in the mirror. This just wasn't working. She walked back into her closet for about the twentieth time, stripping clothes off and throwing a new combination on. She knew she was over thinking this. It wasn't even a date; Emily was simply taking Paige to the movies as _friends_.

The word 'friend' was beginning to sound like a meaningless arrangement of letters. Paige had kept saying it over and over in her head, making sure it sank in before she did anything stupid but now it meant nothing to her.

She shuffled back out to look at herself once more in the tall mirror, inspecting each aspect. Emily would be there in about ten minutes and she still needed to do her make up. Skinny jeans and a blouse would have to do. She pulled on a pair of flats and shrugged an oversized cardigan over her shoulders before grabbing her eyeliner and setting to work.

Emily slowed when she reached Paige's home. She came to a stop at the end of the driveway and looked up at the house. It was similar to Hanna's from the outside but weirdly enough it was bigger on the inside She'd only been in once and it was quite a while ago. Emily blushed at the memory and felt around for her phone, finally finding it in her back pocket. She rested one hand on the steering wheel while she used the other to type out a text.

Paige pressed her lips together, gliding them over each other to evenly spread the new layer of gloss she'd just applied. She did a once over in the mirror just as her phone buzzed. She glanced at it out of the corner of her eye, seeing Emily's name flash across the screen made her heart skip a beat.

"I'm outside : ) xx" Paige smiled. Why the hell was she smiling when the text consisted of two words and a smiley face? Of course the two kisses at the end made her stomach twist nervously but all girls did that when they text their friends, right? In fact, Aria had sent her a one similar when they went shopping together.

"Give me a min xx" Paige quickly typed back, sliding her phone into one of the pockets in her pants. After looking herself over one final time, she nodded in approval and set off out.

"Hey!" Emily grinned excitedly as Paige hopped into the seat next to her, buckling her belt.

"Hi, so are you looking forward to watching this U rated cartoon epidemic?" Paige smirked. Emily groaned and pulled away from the curb.

"If you're gonna make fun of me I'll make you watch Magic Mike."

"Sweet Jesus…" Paige trailed off, her eyes widening playfully at the threat. Emily smiled triumphantly.

* * *

"We are absolutely not!"

"There's no 'we' in 'I', Aria."

"Spencer! You are not crashing Emily's date or night out or whatever it is with Paige." Aria crossed her arms stubbornly, scowling at the taller girl.

"Aren't you curious?" Hanna rolled onto her stomach on top of Spencer's bed. "Don't you wanna see if they totally get it on in the back row?" Aria raised her upper lip at Hanna's suggestion.

"You're both idiots."

"We're pretty idiots."

"Pretty stupid idiots."

"Your moody tone will get you nowhere." Spencer pointed a finger at Aria's nose while dipping her head to give the other girl what she hoped to be an authoritive look. Aria shook her head and let her arms slum at her sides. Whenever she was against Spencer and Hanna, she knew she was doomed.

"Can't we just leave her to it? She said she'd come back and tell us everything so why can't we just stick to the plan for once?" Aria pleaded looking at Hanna then back to Spencer, giving them both puppy eyes.

"Don't look Spencer. Don't look at her eyes!" Hanna maneuvered onto her knees, reaching out helplessly towards Spencer. Spencer bit her lip as Aria pouted, scuffing the toe of her shoe into the ground.

"But she looks so sweet and innocent." Spencer whined.

"She's 10 inches of pure evil!" Hanna rolled off of the bed and grabbed her shoes, slipping them on. Aria laughed at Hanna's dismissive tone and turned away.

"You guys can go if you want but I'm staying here till Em comes back." Aria rested against the foot of the bed smiling with her decision. Hanna and Spencer looked at each other for a good minute before shrugging.

"Okay."

"Later."

Aria's mouth opened and closed as Hanna and Spencer grabbed their coats and phones and made their way out of the room. Her face a picture of clear defeat, she snatched her jacket off the desk before chasing after them.

* * *

Emily circled into the parking lot and put the car in park. She unfastened her seatbelt and grabbed her bag from the back seat before looking to Paige. She took a second to look over the girl. It was ridiculous that she could wear something casual like jeans and a jacket and still look so pretty, her natural beauty obviously helped but it was one of those things that made Emily want to look at her for just that bit longer.

"Emily?" Paige blushed under Emily's gaze but put any romantic thoughts to the back of her mind. This _wasn't_ a date. Emily shook her head and laughed awkwardly.

"Right. The movie starts in ten." Both the girls climbed out of the car and headed towards the building.

"You want popcorn?" Emily asked as they got into the queue.

"Whatever you want." Paige said with a smile. Emily turned on the spot to give the other girl a pained look. She kept staring at Paige, tilting her head almost comically. Paige tried her best not to laugh at the strained look she was being given.

"Are you in pain?"

"Yes! Make a decision on popcorn flavor." Emily flung her arm out towards the popcorn stand.

"Why didn't you just say that instead of giving me the impression you had cramps or something?" Paige poked Emily in the side. Emily slapped Paige's hand away playfully. "You like salted right? We'll get salted."

"No! Don't just get it because I like it, get what you want." Emily held out some money, which Paige eyed before laughing dryly and turning on her heel and heading towards the popcorn stand, leaving Emily holding the money in her hand.

"I'll get the popcorn, you get the tickets, superstar." Paige spun 360 degrees carelessly before continuing on her way to the stand. Emily found herself grinning like an idiot at Paige's back. She couldn't help it.

After they'd gotten their tickets and popcorn, they found their seats halfway up the tier of rows. Paige offered to go first so Emily could take the aisle seat, Emily giggled and nodded shyly, sitting down and making herself comfortable. She took a piece of popcorn between her fingertips and put it in her mouth. She chewed for a second before her brow furrowed.

"This is salted?" Emily turned to Paige still chewing on the snack. Paige looked to the left in confusion.

"Yeah." Paige looked to the ground between her feet. "Is that okay? I thought it was your favourite…" She trailed off feeling embarrassed but not really knowing why. Emily felt her stomach do a somersault; she was melting at the sight in front of her.

"Paige…" Emily breathed, Paige looked up when she heard her name, already regretting it. Those mocha orbs could make her do anything. "You're sweet." Emily felt like that was the lamest thing to say _ever_, but it'd have to do.

* * *

"Oh my god." Aria slouched down further in her chair, folding her arms in protest. Hanna swatted at her.

"Ssshhh, I can't hear what they're saying."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

"Or maybe it's because of all the screaming children." Spencer deadpanned. Aria growled under her breath and looked up at Spencer on her right. She had no idea how the hell she'd ended up between the two. They'd reached the back row of seats just as Emily and Paige had entered, Aria had _insisted _they sneak out before any damage was done but Hanna pushed her onto the second chair and sat in her lap for the first 5 minutes to make sure she didn't try to leave or blow their cover.

"Are we really going to stay here for the entire movie?" Aria huffed, pouting at Spencer. Spencer gave her friend a tight-lipped smile, trying to resist the pleading girl.

"We'll sneak out half way if it's that bad."

"This is Ice Age." Hanna almost yelled, flinging her arms out to the sides. "We're not leaving half way through. Talking mammoths, guys." Spencer's smile fell, soon to be replaced by an annoyed look that mirrored Aria's.

"I regret the decision to spy on the teen lesbians." Spencer fell back in her seat, slumping down. Aria tilted her head to the side, a smug smile painting her lips.

"Oh really?"

"Shut your face, at least I can see over the seat in front of me."

* * *

"Stop it. Paige! Stop!" Emily cowered away from Paige's popcorn fire. "Paige the movie's starting!" Emily held a hand up in defense while trying her best not to laugh at the other girl's concentration. "Paige!" Paige ceased fire and settled back in her chair, joy radiating from every limb.

"I think I won that battle."

"There was no battle! That was one sided terrorism." Emily fumbled with her hair, trying to pluck out stray pieces of popcorn. Paige looked over trying to cover her dry laughter with a cough.

"Here." Paige leaned over and pulled Emily's hands from her hair, placing them back in her lap. Paige felt her skin burn at the contact, pulling away as quickly as she could. If she didn't she might not have been able to. She flicked her eyes up, catching Emily's with her own. They held their gaze, neither moving, neither wanting to be the one to look away first.

"Holy crap they're gonna make out!" Hanna shout whispered, slapping Aria's forearm.

"Ow! Watch the physical assault." Aria pulled away from Hanna giving her a distasteful look. Spencer craned her neck to get a look at what Hanna was talking about.

"Oh my god!" Spencer slapped Aria's other forearm, much in the same way Hanna had done seconds earlier. Aria let her arms fall limp in her lap, looking straight ahead with a solemn stare.

"Really?"

"Someone needs to go push their faces together." Spencer made gestures with her hands, baring her teeth in frustration.

"You, uh, you have popcorn in your hair." Paige whispered. Emily nodded a little, not really trusting herself to speak right now.

"I'm just gonna, uh…" Paige mumbled, using a shaky hand to point at Emily's hair. Emily nodded again, tilting her head forward a little to give Paige a better view. Paige used her fingers to pick popcorn pieces out of silky, raven hair. She really liked Emily's hair, the way it fell, the color, the way it framed her face perfectly, how soft it was, how perfect it was.

* * *

"I'm gonna hurl." Spencer noted casually.

"Are they even dating?" Aria sat forward, beginning to enjoy the creeping lifestyle.

"No, but if they were I'm pretty sure their clothes would be hitting the ground right about now."

"Han."

"Ssshhh!" Hanna pressed her hand over Aria's mouth.

"I think I got it all." Paige moved away and settled back into her seat. The further away she got from Emily the colder she felt, it was like she had to be near Emily to be comfortable, to feel good. Emily smiled gratefully, silently hating the distance between them.

Suddenly a burst of music filtered through the room and the lights dimmed. Emily bounced in her chair, her eyes lighting up with excitement. Paige looked over at the childlike figure and couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips. She just looked so happy.

"It's starting!" Emily near squealed clasping then unclasping her hands. Paige laughed audibly.

"You really like Ice Age don't you?" Emily only hummed, bobbing her head enthusiastically. Paige watched Emily watching the big screen. This was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen.

"I think it's time to leave."

"But I want to watch the movie!" Hanna whined quietly, trying to ignore the pestering mother and child next to her.

"I'll take you next week, can we just leave them to it, please?" Aria clasped her hands together, an actual serious look on her face. Hanna sighed and pushed her hair back.

"Spence?"

"I'm with Aria on this one." Spencer smiled sympathetically.

"Okay." Hanna huffed out dejectedly. "Let's sneak passed while they're undressing each other with their eyes."

Spencer led the trio down the stairs, turning their bodies away when they passed Paige and Emily. When they reached the bottom of the steps they quickened their pace out of there.

* * *

"Was that…."

"My idiots?" Emily narrowed her eyes at the back of the three figures that had just practically run out of the room. She would so kill them later.

"What were they doing here?" Paige smiled at the look on Emily's face. "Careful there, don't strain yourself." Emily snapped her neck to the left to elbow Paige in the ribs.

"The movie's starting, sshhh!" Emily placed a finger over her lips dramatically. Paige laughed; Emily was so childlike it was so cute. She couldn't help but want to protect her.

As the movie played out, Paige found herself turning to look at the girl beside her. She laughed at almost every part, her eyes twinkling with joy. When there was a sad or an angsty part, that worrying look crossed her features. She was so sold with this movie and it just made Paige want her more.

"Did you enjoy the film?" Emily hopped up and down as they left the building, twirling around and around until she got to the car. She unlocked the doors and threw her jacket and bag in the back.

"Yeah, I did, it was badass." Paige smiled, not sounding as enthusiastic as Emily but at this point, not even the 6 year old two rows down from them could sound as enthusiastic as Emily.

"It was a cartoon about talking mammoths, sexually frustrated sabers and sloths that eat paralyzing berries, why aren't you more excited by this?" Emily shook her arms out to the side violently, a genuine look of concern washing over her face. Paige's eyes widened with mock panic. "There's an in-proportional squirrel that has an unhealthy obsession with acorns that split up the continents, what is wrong with you McCullers?" Emily slapped Paige upside the head as lightly as she could. Paige's jaw dropped open.

"Excuse you!" Paige laughed, clipping her seatbelt into place. Emily let her eyes trail down the line of Paige's body before hastily turning away to fasten her own seatbelt.

"So, me and the girls were having a night in at Spencer's. We were gonna order pizza and talk about boys…"

"Boys?"

"Welcome to my world." Emily shrugged putting the car in drive. "And I was wondering if you wanted to come?" Emily mumbled quietly, turning to keep her eyes on the road. Paige bit down on her lip. She really couldn't, it wasn't that she didn't want to, in fact, she _really_ wanted to. She wanted to have friends that actually cared for her, she wanted to spend more time with Emily, she didn't want to go back to her home where her parents were.

"I want to," Paige took a breath. "But I can't, I'm sorry." Paige ducked down and set her line of vision in hr lap. She fiddled nervously with her fingers, hating herself more and more.

"Why not?" Emily sounded hurt; she didn't even try to hide it.

"I just can't Emily, okay?" Paige's voice was harsh and sudden; she immediately wanted to take her words back. They fell into silence.

Paige glanced to her side catching the look on Emily's face. She could tell, just by those chocolate eyes, that she was wounded. Paige cursed herself, that was the last thing she wanted to do; hurt Emily.

"Why have you been avoiding me for the last two weeks?" Emily broke the silence, but her voice wasn't strong. Paige sighed and pushed back her hair. It was now or never right? At least she didn't have Spencer Hastings breathing down her neck waiting to hit her with a shovel.

"I was embarrassed, I guess…" Paige shuffled around uncomfortably in her seat. "I can't remember much of that night, I can't remember what I said," Paige shook her head. "What I did…"

Emily pulled up into a small parking area at the side of the road and switched off the engine, turning her whole body to look at Paige.

"I don't want a speech or anything." Paige bowed her head, choosing to play with a loose thread. Emily looked at Paige in disbelief.

"Paige, you didn't do or say anything. You mentioned me not having time for you and yeah, you were right, I'd totally put you on the backburner, it was really unfair of me. But you have to know that what happened that night, it wasn't your fault, you were drugged and even if you had done something, I wouldn't care. Paige, you're one of my friends and if you haven't caught on by now, I don't have many of them and the ones that I do have, I want to keep them _forever_." Emily stared at Paige until she looked up and caught her gaze. "Come stay at Spencer's, you'll make me scolding them for spying on us much more fun." Emily tried to lighten the mood and grinned when a tiny smile creeped onto Paige's lips.

"You have a way with your words, Fields." Paige's wit was one of Emily's favourite things about the girl.

"Is that a yes?"

Paige gave Emily a teasing look.

"Drive."

* * *

_Hey! So thank you to whoever favourited and followed! A bigger thank you to those who reviewed, the stuff you say influences my writing and gives me a good idea of what i can do to improve the story or the way i write. It's great to hear what you have to say. _

_Also, some of you said it might be better being longer than a three shot or whatever, well, at this rate it might be! You never know._

_Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"What time's the movie end?" Hanna asked from her place lying on Spencer's bed. Spencer looked at her clock before answering.

"About now I'd say."

"What if they saw us?" Aria chewed on her bottom lip, pacing back and forth the length of Spencer's room.

"Would you just sshhh!" Hanna raised an arm in the air and pointed a finger in Aria's general direction. "They were too busy sucking face to notice us."

"You paint pictures with your words." Spencer acknowledged solemnly, a grossed out look on her face.

"Can we order the pizza now? I want pepperoni." Hanna flung herself forwards and crossed her legs so she was sitting up. Spencer looked at Aria, silently asking what she wanted.

"Em and I were gonna share an extra cheese." Spencer nodded and took her phone out, proceeding to ring the take out and order in what they wanted. After she'd finished the call she sprawled out on the bed next to Hanna.

"That's a bad idea, Spence."

"What-" Spencer barely had a chance to get her words out before Hanna landed on top of her tickling her sides and laughing hysterically. "Get. Off!" Spencer gasped for breath. She was at the disadvantage here, Hanna was on her back and she was strong. Spencer couldn't push her away or push herself up.

"Fight back Spence! Fight back!" Hanna taunted, laughing evilly.

"Ari- ah!" Spencer reached out blindly for her only hope of freedom. Aria quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head forward just a little.

"This is punishment for all the height jokes you've made. You can suffer."

* * *

"Will they mind me crashing?"

"Paige, we've been through this. An extra person just means extra gossip, Hanna practically ingests the stuff, you'll be her favourite person in no time." Emily gave Paige a reassuring look, putting the car in park. Both the girls hopped out and walked up to the Hastings' doorway.

"Maybe I should jus-" Emily had already knocked on the door, stopping Paige mid sentence. Emily narrowed her eyes at the girl opposite her; Paige just shrugged her shoulders innocently. Before either of them knew it Aria was greeting them and pulling the door open wider so they could both step in.

"Where are Hanna and Spencer?" Emily's brow furrowed. Aria pointed up the stairs.

"Making out." She replied casually. Emily nodded unfazed; Paige however, was as confused as ever. She chose to remain quiet and focus on the side of Emily's face. "Pizza's on the way. Oh! Uh- Paige, do you want me to order another? Or you can share part of Spencer's? Or maybe Hanna's, but we generally don't go near her while she's in the company of a pepperoni pizza."

Paige smiled and shook her head.

"I'll just have whatever's going." She smiled politely, not really knowing why she was so nervous. She'd sat with them for lunch and everything had been relaxed, no one had had a problem with her, the only thing that was slightly off was the way Spencer had looked at her for the first minute of her joining the group. She didn't even have a reason to _be_ nervous. She wasn't Emily's girlfriend; they weren't going to interrogate her.

"Okay, well." Aria closed the door and motioned up the stairs, Paige followed Emily, trying her best not to watch the way Emily's hips swung as they climbed the steps. Emily smirked to herself and swayed her hips a little more than usual. She wanted Paige to look; she needed Paige to want her as much as she wanted Paige. She knew she'd screwed up their relationship a little when she'd friend zoned Paige at the dance and sending her mixed signals was just cruel but she knew what she wanted now and she wasn't going back on her decision.

Aria pushed Spencer's door open to see Spencer on top of Hanna this time, she raised her eyebrows in surprise although, it was to be expected, no one messed with Spencer Hastings and got away with it.

"How do you like it? Huh?"

"Spence." Aria tried but failed to get her attention.

"Say it!" Spencer pinned Hanna's hands above her head. Hanna shook her head and clamped her lips together.

"Say. It." Spencer leaned down threateningly.

"The sexual tension between you two is almost painful." Emily spoke dropping her bag near the window and stripping off her jacket. Spencer let Hanna's hands go but remained straddling the blonde.

"How was your date hot stuff?" Hanna giggled, turning to look at Emily. Aria's eyes widened as she looked from Paige, who was now looking at the ground, to Emily, who was blushing furiously.

"Guys-" Aria tried to stop the quickly developing awkward situation.

"Did you make out a little?" Spencer and Hanna laughed at each other. Spencer's back was to the door where Paige and Aria stood and Hanna was obviously lying on her back. Neither knew Paige was there. Aria didn't know how to feel, she was on the brink of breaking down in a fit of laughter, whereas on the other hand she was cringing so hard. There was a knock at the door.

"Is that the pizza guy?" Hanna looked back up to Spencer.

"Dear God I hope so." Aria quickly turned on her heel and ran down the stairs to get the food. Spencer turned to look at Aria but instead, saw Paige. Her jaw hung slack as she fumbled for words to say.

"Well this is awkward." Hanna craned her neck out to the side to see what her friend was staring at.

"Oh no."

"You guys are so dead." Emily was the first to recover. "We saw you leaving the theatre." Emily stood from her place on the window ledge and descended on the two. Hanna and Spencer spun to face each other then quickly turned back to Emily.

"What are you talking about?"

"We've been here all afternoon."

"Aria can vouch for us."

"No I can't, we spied on you." Aria shuffled back into the room, three pizza boxes in her arms. Paige grabbed the top box earning a grateful smile from Aria.

"I can't believe you guys spied on us! All we did was go see a film and how did you even know which film we were at?" Emily grabbed the other box and flipped it open to see which pizza it was.

"We heard you guys say something about talking mammoths at lunch, there wasn't really more than one option." Spencer answered.

"Speaking of talking mammoths, Spence are you gonna get off me sometime this month?" Hanna groaned. Spencer hit her shoulder before rolling off her friend, scowling at what she'd been implying.

"I have ours, Em." Aria flipped open the pizza box lid and set it on the window seat. Paige had already looked inside the box she was holding and seen that she had the pepperoni. She approached the bed where Hanna and carefully placed the box in front of Hanna before backing away slowly. The girls all looked at her with eyebrows raised. Paige looked at each of them in turn.

"Aria said not to get between you and pizza." She shrugged; Hanna smiled sarcastically to herself then growled in Aria's direction.

"Paige you can share with me." Spencer reached for the box Emily was holding only to have to torn away from her hands. "Emily, I'm hungry. Give it." Spencer held her hands out expectantly.

"You guys spied on us. There must be consequences."

"In my defense, it was their idea, I didn't even wanna go." Aria tried to detach a piece of pizza from stringy cheese.

"It's okay, you're in the clear." Emily shot over her shoulder before continuing to glare at Spencer and Hanna.

"Emily, give the girl her pizza." Paige laughed dryly, one side of her mouth twitching upward into a half smile. Emily was trying to be angry but it was just adorable. Her pouty scowl made her look too innocent. Emily looked at Paige and sighed, if anyone could get Emily to give up a pizza, it was Paige. Emily passed the box to Spencer and sat on the ground in front of Aria. Aria peeled a slice of pizza from the box and passed it down to her before ruffling raven hair softly.

Paige looked at the ground. She wished she could touch Emily like that without it being weird or too friendly. Spencer, Emily, Hanna and Aria had no boundaries as friends. They told each other everything and practically lived at each other's houses. Paige knew there wasn't really a chance of her breaking into the circle but she kind of wanted to try. These girls were genuinely the nicest people she'd ever met, bar Spencer for the first five or six months of their relationship.

Emily.

Emily was the one she wanted, she knew she had to get on her friends' good side if she wanted to stand a chance, but that didn't mean she didn't want to be friends with them in the first place. It was all a complicated twisted mess but she understood it nonetheless.

"You like peppers right?" Suddenly Spencer was stood in front of her, holding the pizza box open before her. Paige smiled and nodded, taking a slice. Emily giggled quietly, under her breath. Paige was stood there like a lemon. It was cute.

"Paige, come sit down."

Paige blew out a breath between her lips and crossed to sit next to Emily. She needed to let loose a little, if she was going to spend the night with these people she had to have fun or it was just going to be awkward.

"So, you guys aren't mad at us for spying?" Aria asked, quick to break the silence.

"Why did you bring it back up?"

"We were past this woman." Hanna snarled. Aria shrugged, the corners of her lips tilting downward as she bared her teeth just a little uncertainly. Paige laughed at the expressions on the girls' faces.

"We're not mad that you spied."

"I'm mad that you didn't help me out when I was bombarded by popcorn." Emily glowered from Paige to Spencer and back again, roughly biting a bit off the pizza in her hand. Paige perked up at the comment, chewing like she'd accomplished world peace or something.

"I helped get it out of your hair afterward." Paige defended herself playfully. Emily tilted her head with a mock look of disbelief on her face.

"Yeah and I almost choked on that bit that happened to go in my mouth."

"Did you help her out with that too, Paige?" Hanna smirked into her pizza. Spencer and Aria's eyes widened at Hanna's words. Paige immediately stopped chewing, forgetting how to function. Emily tried to swallow the food she'd been chewing but failed and started coughing helplessly.

Aria leaned down and patted Emily's back bringing her coughing to a stop.

"That was inappropriate."

"Uh, hello? Have you met me?" Hanna wiped her hands together. She shot a dismissive look at the other four before wiggling her fingers and eying her next slice of pizza hungrily. "Sorry you almost choked." She added with a mouthful of food.

"Do you want me to get you a drink?" Paige softly touched Emily's knee. Emily brought a hand to her chest as her breathing slowed. She shook her head, looking up through her lashes. Emily's eyes were dark, Paige wasn't sure if it was because she'd nearly died or because of the way Paige was resting her fingers on her leg. Should she be so lucky.

Paige quickly took her hand back, clamping it into a fist. She could feel her fingertips tingling.

"If looks could eradicate clothing-"

"Spencer!" Emily slapped Spencer's shin making the girl hop back.

"The sexual tension in this room is blocking my airways." Spencer shrugged, throwing her arms out to the sides. A piece of red pepper flew off the slice of pizza in her hand and onto Hanna's. The look of disgust that worked its way around each of Hanna's features, from her eyes to her lips, was perfect. Paige felt her mouth twitching into a smile without her even noticing.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry it just happened."

"This kind of thing doesn't just '_happen_' Spencer." Hanna growled, gesturing to the piece of pepper, jabbing at it furiously with a finger.

"I didn't plan it!"

"That's what she wants you to think." Aria threw in. Emily craned her neck back to give Aria a questioning look. Aria just shook her head, her eyes widening innocently. "I wanted in."

"It's just a pepper, Hanna." Paige turned to look at Spencer for her comeback, this was so much fun, way better than any night she'd had in ages.

"It's not just a pepper." Hanna narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. "It's a vegetable."

"I need a drink now." Emily coughed a little more and hopped up from between Aria's legs. "Does anyone else want one?"

"It was sabotage!" Hanna shouted pointing an accusing finger at Spencer, completely ignoring Emily's question. Spencer's mouth opened and closed appalled at what she was being accused of.

"No it wasn't! Even if it was, what would I be sabotaging?"

Aria just shook her head at Emily and pulled her knees to her chest as she watched her two friends fight. It was probably her favourite part of these sleepovers. Emily looked at Paige. Instead of answering, the brunette jumped up, wiped imaginary dust from her clothes and followed Emily from the room.

"Are they really yelling at each other over a pepper?" Emily laughed over her shoulder. Paige smiled goofily, she _really_ liked Emily's laugh.

"Yeah, but when we go back up there they'll be hugging it out, bonding over jokes about Aria's height." Emily shook her hand around dismissively. Paige followed Emily to the kitchen and leant against the counter as Emily rummaged around the room.

"Spencer's got a nice place."

"Spencer's parents have a nice income." Emily looked over her shoulder, Paige looked so tiny out of her comfort zone. "What do you want to drink?" Emily pulled two glasses from a cabinet and set them down on the counter.

"Um, whatever you're having I guess." Emily nodded and moved to get some water. Paige bit her lip and began tracing patterns with her finger on the counter top. She watched everything Emily did, the way she flipped her hair back over her shoulder, the way she moved, the way she got a little crease in between her eyebrows when she concentrated, the way her lips pressed together and pouted just a bit more as she focused.

She watched the way her shoulders rolled, the way her hips pressed against the cupboards, the way her toes scrunched up then straightened out at random times. Emily bit down on her lip softly and from then on Paige was gone. Emily had her completely and the worst part was that Emily didn't even want her like that.

Emily's eyes darted side to side, watching what she was doing. Usually it didn't really require that much effort to pour some water but doing it under Paige's gaze made it almost impossible. Her hands were shaking, she felt nervous but at the same time she could see the way Paige was looking at her out of the corner of her eye and it made her feel beautiful. Wanted.

Paige licked her lips, her eyes wandering to Emily's mouth. She had to hold back a sigh and somehow she tore her eyes back up to meet Emily's.

Oh god. How long had she been looking at her? Paige tried to move her eyes away but she was stuck. Emily didn't even attempt to cover the fact that she was staring at Paige. The corner of Emily's mouth tucked upwards. There was a thud from upstairs and both set of eyes flicked upward.

"We should-"

"They'll think we-"

"Got lost." Paige finished for Emily. Emily smiled at the ground and picked up the glasses, walking ahead of Paige.

"I was gonna say they'd think we were making out."

Paige almost tripped over herself. Hold on, wasn't Emily the one that _didn't_ want to be in a relationship here? Emily grinned when she heard Paige stumble behind her. The two walked back into the room to find Spencer and Hanna sitting on the bed next to each other, biting into their pizza and chuckling at a pouting Aria.

"You know Mr Fitz is pretty short too…"

* * *

_I just wanna say thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed, they're all so sweet and i love reading what you have to say! I also get quite a few ideas from what you tell me so it's great to hear from you. Also thank you to everyone who's favourited and followed. Obviously this is gonna be a bit more than a three-shot haha. _

_Thank you for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The girls' night was slowly coming to an end. They'd gossiped, laughed, made fun of each other, made fun of other people, talked about school, had a pillow fight and showered and changed.

Paige had had so much fun; she'd literally had the best time ever. This was the first time in her life she'd actually felt carefree and as if she could be herself. Emily, Spencer, Hanna and Aria were all so different from each other, that's what made Paige feel like she was a part of their little clique. They were all so different; so was Paige. She was different from all of the girls, which in a way, kind of made her the same.

She was pretty sure she hadn't smiled as much as much as she did that night than she had in her entire life, obviously counting out the time when she was 'dating' Emily.

Spencer walked back into the room with a glass of water. She crossed the space between her door and the bed and perched on the edge of the mattress across from Aria.

"I'm sorry I hit you so hard." Spencer pouted guiltily. Aria closed her eyes and smiled. She reached out and patted Spencer's head lightly and took some aspirin from the girl before reaching for the water.

"It wasn't your fault Spence."

"Wasn't her fault? Aria, she practically knocked you out." Hanna gestured at Spencer who narrowed her eyes and drew a finger across her throat before pointing at Hanna silently.

"Spencer's just competitive." Aria smiled at her friend. Spencer looked a little happier at Aria's words.

"I'm sorry, you're tiny and fragile and sometimes I forget that." Spencer pouted but smiled at the same time.

"Shut up." Aria pushed Spencer's shoulder lightly.

"So like, are you all gay?" Paige spoke up, feeling like she could say whatever she wanted around the girls after their night. Aria shot Paige a look while Spencer and Hanna turned to each other and bobbed their heads side to side as if they were actually contemplating the thought.

"If Em and I aren't married by the time we're forty…" Hanna started.

"Emily was my back up plan, actually." Spencer interrupted.

"It's great that I'm a back up plan." Emily sulked, lying down on her make shift bed. Paige gave her a look of adoration. Emily would always be Paige's first choice.

"You guys are digging your own grave here."

"Shut up, just because you're basically already married doesn't mean you're in the clear." Hanna hoped up off of the window seat and lay down next to Emily. Aria gave the blonde a mocking look before snuggling down under Spencer's covers.

"Why do you two get the bed and us three have to suffer?" Hanna rolled over uncomfortably, shifting her hips around and bumping into Emily.

"Watch it!" Emily pushed at Hanna's back. Hanna glowered at Emily and swung her hips into her side again.

Paige rolled her eyes and moved further away from the scene.

"I'll turn the lights out." Paige pressed the button and carefully made her way back to her spot on the other side of Emily, although she had opted to move herself further away. One; she didn't want to tempt herself. Two; it hurt too much. And three; she might actually be able to sleep if she couldn't smell, hear or see Emily anywhere near her.

She heard Spencer wriggling into bed next to Aria before the room fell silent. There was a quiet 'goodnight' from one of the girls in the room but Paige couldn't work out who it was. Everyone echoed the word back and then once again the room was still.

Paige rolled onto her side, facing away from the others and shutting her eyes. She let a breath out through her lips and willed herself to drift off to sleep. Being in such a close proximity to Emily Fields without touching her or wanting to just reach out and kiss her was energy consuming and she needed to rest.

Emily lay on her back, eyeing the outline of Paige's form as she rolled away. She turned to look at Hanna before rolling onto her side as well. She needed to sort this out. She knew she was messing with Paige's head and it was unfair. In her defense, it wasn't on purpose. Paige brought it out of her, it was fun but at the same time frustrating. She couldn't help but think about how easy this could be. She was almost positive Paige still liked her and she most definitely liked Paige.

So why weren't they together?

Emily cursed herself and pushed her head further into the pillow. Stupid feelings. After about an hour she suspected, she fell into a light sleep, all thoughts of Paige turning into dreams.

Paige however, wasn't having such a restful night. She'd only just heard Emily's breathing even out. Emily was the only thing on her mind and while she loved thinking about the girl, she loathed it at the same time. The thoughts kept her awake; they made her over think everything. Like those little looks earlier in the kitchen, had she just imagined them all? Was her imagination really that desperate?

An hour passed as thoughts of Emily continued to run through her mind. She'd rolled onto her front and rested her chin on top of her linked hands, occasionally she tilted her head to the left a little so she could look at Emily out of the corner of her eye. The girl looked so peaceful, so careless, she never looked this free when she was awake and functioning. Paige found it kind of refreshing. She felt as if this was the first time they'd been around each other when there wasn't any kind of tension or need to prove herself.

She sighed and rested her cheek on her fingers, she wasn't even tired. This had been the longest day of her life and she was still running on adrenaline, except the only drug running through her veins was Emily Fields. She made a split second decision and as gently and quietly as she could, climbed to her feet. She tiptoed down the stairs and tried to remember the layout of the Hastings' household. Instead of wandering somewhere and getting lost she decided to just go sit on the floor by the couch.

Paige had always chosen to sit on the floor, ever since she was a little girl even if there were seats spare, she just liked feeling the ground beneath her; feeling stable. She played with one of the strings at the top of the pajama pants she'd borrowed from Emily. Paige smirked to herself, she knew Emily had planned this and Emily knew she couldn't say no to her. Emily might seem all sweet and innocent at first but when you get to know her, she's quite scheming.

Paige looked around the space, it was unreal. She'd always admired Spencer from afar, not in a creepy way, she'd always been intimidated by her but she thought that out of all the girls, she was the most similar to Spencer. That's probably why they'd clashed at first. She ran her fingertips over the flooring and let her eyes trace over the little details that caught her attention every now and then.

Her head shot up when she heard a quiet creaking from the stairs.

"Paige?" Paige shook her head and breathed out a relieved laugh. Emily stood half way down the staircase, her hair a little tousled and her voice timid.

"Hey, why are you up?" Paige couldn't help but want to cuddle up to Emily under the covers and just hold her until they both fell asleep, she looked so cute right now.

"I just woke up for a second and you were gone, I was worried." Emily descended the stairs and made her way over to Paige. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and slumped down to the ground beside Paige. Paige smiled at the tired girl obviously completely unaware of her surroundings.

"I'm fine."

"Then why are you awake? And why are we on the ground?" Everything slowly dawned on Emily as she looked around the room and at the ground with a confused look.

"Emily, go back to bed." Paige rested a hand on Emily's shoulder, squeezing just a little to reassure the girl she was fine. Emily looked at the hand on her shoulder and furrowed her brow. She looked up to Paige then back at the hand. Paige had no idea what was running through Emily's mind so she quickly pulled her hand back, regretting the very motion in the first place.

Emily caught Paige's gaze and took a breath.

"I'm sorry." Emily pushed her body sideways so she could face Paige full on.

"For what? Emily you hav-"

"Paige, stop talking." Emily pressed her hand over Paige's mouth softly, not even regretting the contact. Paige blushed deeply; Emily was so gentle, so careful it was everything she'd been craving. Emily took her hand back when she was sure Paige wasn't going to continue talking.

"I've not been fair to you and don't even think about arguing with me, you've seen what Spencer can do with a pillow and I will set her on you." Emily took a quick breath, organizing her thoughts. She looked away to her left before building up the courage she needed to look Paige in the eye.

"I told you at the masquerade dance that I just wanted to be friends with you and I _did_. But during the time before Jenna's party when we hadn't really spoken, I began to miss you." Emily looked down; this was harder than she thought. Paige's expression had remained the same since she'd started speaking.

"I began to miss you and think about you at random times and at first I thought it was because I missed my swimming partner or a friend that new me on a different level. But, when we spoke around the time of Jenna's party, that's when it hit me, how much I had _really missed you."_ Emily took another steadying breath and clasped her hands together to stop them from shaking.

"I missed the little things about you and then when you confronted me, telling me how unfair I'd been to you, it made me hurt. It made me hurt because _you_ were hurt. So then I realized that I wanted to be the one to make you happy and it just snowballed and now I'm telling you these things and you're looking at me like I'm growing hair out of my eyeballs or something and I shouldn't have done this at 3AM." Emily rambled on getting quieter and quieter as she ran out of words.

Paige's jaw hung slack. What the hell was happening? She had no idea what to say. This was the best thing to ever happen and she had no words.

"I'll just go back to bed." Emily fumbled and pressed her palms to the ground to push herself up. Paige was quick to react and pull her back to the ground.

"Wait, just, wait." Paige had to take it all in, she still wasn't sure what was happening. "So, you like me?" Emily face palmed and left it there.

"Am I not being obvious enough?" Paige felt her heart explode, the hugest of goofy grins gracing her lips. Emily was still hiding behind her hand.

"Emily, I'm a potato, you have to paint a 20 foot sign in bright red if you want to get my attention. You already know how I feel about you."

"How you _felt_. I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you or anything…" Emily shrugged, finally letting her hand drop from her face.

"Emily," Paige laughed in disbelief. "I never stopped liking you. How could anyone? You're addictive." Emily dipped her head shyly, that's when she saw Paige's hand just laying there. The smile from her face dropped, replaced with an inquisitive look. She shifted her weight and used her own hand to gently touch the back of Paige's. She tugged at Paige's index finger so their hands were in mid air. Emily threaded her fingers through the gaps between Paige's and folded them over; her fingertips grazed Paige's skin softly, slowly.

Paige marveled at how delicate Emily was and how perfectly they fit. Emily's hand was in hers; it was taking her a while to actually understand what was going on.

"Will you…" Emily stopped her sentence, choosing to fiddle with Paige's hand just a bit longer before continuing. "I like you. A lot." Paige smiled at Emily's words, this was a dream right? It was totally a dream; she'd wake up in a few minutes.

"I like you too." Paige cocked her head to the side, still smiling like an idiot. Emily looked away from their entwined hands and into Paige's eyes.

"Enough to let me take you out, like," Emily tossed around words in her head but none of them seemed right for the situation. "Girlfriending things?" Paige raised her eyebrow and flipped their hands around aimlessly.

"Girlfriending?"

"You heard me."

"I heard the girlfriend part."

"Oh, well. I just, you know, if you want or we can-"

"Shut up." It was Paige's turn to put a finger over Emily's lips. "Being your girlfriend would be like Christmas ten times over only better." Emily raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Ten times over _and_ better? That's a whole load of happiness to fulfill." Emily brought her free hand to her lips as she tried to hold back a yawn. Paige wrinkled her nose, Emily was just so adorable right now and there actually weren't enough words in the dictionary to describe her.

"Come on, let's go sleep."

The girls crept back into the dark room and lay down on the bed, closer this time. They wrapped themselves in the covers and whispered quiet goodnights to each other. There was silence and at first, Paige thought Emily had drifted straight to sleep. A second later she felt delicate digits sliding over hers, covering her hand. It was a different warmth that she definitely wanted to feel more often, it was good, it was that something she'd been missing.

Emily finally locked her hand with Paige's, much like they had done minutes earlier. Emily's thumb moved back and forth slowly over Paige's skin and with each time Paige's eyelids grew heavier. Before she knew it she was in a new kind of blackness and Emily was there with her.

* * *

_Hi, so the reviews i got last time were amazing, thank you so much! You keep giving me ideas which is always a plus so thanks again. So as you can see everything's kind of moving on now so i plan on this story being maybe 2 or 3 more chapters depending on where i go with it. I'm not taking this story to any angsty places so if you're into that, here's a warning. _

_Thanks again for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Should we wake them?" Hanna poked Spencer's side excitedly. Spencer wiggled her eyebrows back at the blonde. Aria chose to roll her eyes and pull the duvet tighter over the three girls. "Do you guys see this? They totally made out at _some_ point last night." Gesturing at the two girls lying on the makeshift bed on the floor.

"Would you please leave it?" Aria growled in a whisper.

"I'm not doing anything! I'm merely speculating from afar, I'm reciting fanfiction." Hanna gave a proud nod. Spencer and Aria turned their heads to her in unison.

"Fanfiction?"

"What?" Hanna crossed her arms. "It's insightful and fulfilling when you're faced with a disappointing scenario." Spencer's eyes grew twice the size while Aria's jaw dropped slightly.

"Who are you?" Spencer whispered dangerously lowly, leaning into Aria, away from Hanna.

"I can be deep and meaningful." Aria rolled her eyes at the banter and tossed the cover back.

"I'm going to get breakfast, come with me." Aria hopped off the bed and straightened her oversized shirt, (Spencer's), before resting her hands on her hips.

"She looks serious."

"That's because I _am_." Aria forced through her teeth quietly. "Now come on, make me cereal." Aria reached out for Spencer's wrist and tugged. Like a chain reaction, Spencer grabbed Hanna's wrist as they shuffled from the mattress.

"My specialty." Spencer grinned, adding an extra bounce to her step as the three girls scuttled from the room as quietly as they could.

Hanna tossed one last look over her shoulder before she left. Paige was laying on her left side her head bowed down just a little, her left hand folded around Emily's. Emily was facing Paige; the blanket covered their legs, but she could tell their feet were tangled. They weren't hugging or anything but the way Emily's body curled in towards Paige's made Hanna want to squeal.

Spencer yanked Hanna's arm harder.

"Wow, ow! Control your rage!"

The room was quiet and it stayed that way for another 30 minutes. The dull light spilling through the small crack in the curtains made Emily stir. She inhaled deeply, filling her with the smell of Paige. She opened her eyes quickly and tilted her head up a little to see Paige still sleeping. Emily had to control the noise that was trying to erupt quietly from her throat. Paige just looked so adorable; the way she was curling around Emily made her feel protected; safe.

Emily felt the warmth around her hand and remembered how Paige's fingers had entwined with hers just before she'd fallen to sleep. She used her other hand to gently touch the side of Paige's head. Her fingertips traced along the other girl's cheekbone lightly, slowly working their way up to brush dark hair away from closed eyes. She could tell Paige was waking up, her breath had become uneven and she felt Paige squeeze her hand securely.

"Emily?" Paige breathed, her voice full of confusion and wondering. Everything flooded back to Paige at once. Emily continued to tuck Paige's hair behind her ear so she could see her face. She had a _really _pretty face and she could see into her eyes.

"Hey there." Emily let out a soft chuckle. She couldn't quite explain the feeling she was feeling right now. In a way she felt privileged or special, she felt like this was something she could do everyday; witness Paige McCullers open her eyes and be the first one looking back. The feeling flooded her senses, it felt like a tidal wave, starting in her toes and flowing all the way up to her eyes, pulling Emily's lips into a smile as it went.

"You're in a good mood." Paige acknowledged, her voice still rough. Emily's eyes were searing into her own and even though eye contact wasn't Paige's strong point, she couldn't look away. There was a connection there; it was electric.

"I wonder why." The words came out quieter than a whisper, almost soundless, but Paige caught them. She was too close not to. They stayed that way, just holding each other's hand and looking into the other's eyes for a while, neither dared to move. Emily's eyebrows furrowed when they heard harsh whispering from outside the room.

"Spencer, move!"

"No."

"What are you both doing? Can't we wait downstairs till they come down?"

"Jesus Christ how old are you, Aria? Your mom would be better company."

"Hanna! She's just kidding, Aria."

"I'm sure she was."

That was followed by a loud scuffling sound, some muffled cursing and a final bang. Paige and Emily looked at each other in amusement.

"You guys know we can hear you right?" Emily called, giving Paige's nose a tap before sitting up and leaning back on her arms, Paige followed suit and crossed her legs, looking over at the door.

"Are they talking to us?" Aria whispered harshly at Spencer. Spencer prodded the door so it slowly creaked open until they could see both Emily and Paige smiling at them smugly.

"Morning!" Spencer interrupted the silence cheerfully as if nothing had happened.

"Aria, get off me." Hanna growled from her place on the floor underneath the smaller girl.

"Not until you apologize." Aria smirked to herself. She had sat on Hanna's back, evidently pinning her to the ground.

"I'm not apologizing."

"Well that's fine by me." Aria turned her attention to the two girls still in Spencer's bedroom. "Do you guys want breakfast? We were gonna have cereal but then Spencer wanted pancakes so we decided to wait till you both woke up." Emily looked over at Paige who nodded.

"Sure." Emily stood, adjusting her pajamas as she went. She stuck her hand out in front of Paige. Paige grinned up at the girl before sliding her hand over Emily's and pulling herself to her feet. She was expecting Emily to let go straight after, but instead the coy girl slipped her fingers in between Paige's. Aria and Spencer shared a look of knowing after witnessing the tiny action. Hanna squealed.

"Have you made out yet?"

* * *

"Oh my god, Spencer. These are awesome." Paige pointed at the short stack with her fork. Spencer smiled triumphantly.

"Don't make her ego bigger than it already is." Emily bumped her elbow against Paige's playfully. Paige stuck her tongue out a little, jokingly, raising her eyebrows. Emily giggled under her breath, pushing her elbow into Paige's more. Paige pushed Emily with her shoulder.

"Ow, what're you doing? Stop it. Emily!" Paige laughed quietly, still pushing at the other girl with her arm, totally unaware that the other occupants of the room were watching them.

"Christ, get a room, I'm trying to eat here." Hanna forked another load of pancake into her mouth. Spencer rolled her eyes and took her plate to the sink, Aria stood and went to do the same before Spencer stopped her and took the plate from her hands. Aria smiled in thanks.

"So, I'm gonna take off." Aria announced letting her hands fall limp by her sides. Everyone made a point to look at what she was wearing. Aria followed their eyes. "After I get changed. Ezra and stuff…" The tiny brunette trailed off, spinning on her heel and running back up the stairs.

"Me too. Caleb's taking me to see Ice Age seen as the opportunity was rudely torn from me just recently." Hanna remarked sarcastically, finishing off the last of her pancakes.

"You know Scrat doesn't get the acorn, right?" Emily smiled evilly as Hanna stood. Hanna's face morphed into one of disgust and shock.

"Spoilers! Why would you do that?" Hanna clamped her hands over her ears and headed up to Spencer's room, following Aria's lead. Emily laughed and continued to eat her pancakes.

"What are you guys doing today?" Spencer asked as she shuffled around the kitchen, cleaning up after Hanna. Paige looked over to Emily, silently asking her the same question. Emily shrugged.

"I don't know, the park maybe?" Emily suggested.

"Unless you want to go swimming in the park, that's a no. It's raining hard out there ladies." Spencer grabbed a stool and pulled up opposite Emily and Paige. Paige gave Emily a consoling smile. Emily pouted at her food.

"I like the park."

"I'll take you when it's sunny." Paige's left hand somehow ended up at the top of Emily's back, playing with strands of Emily's raven hair. Emily leaned back into the touch.

"Too much gay in here, it's rubbing off." Spencer deadpanned. Emily shook her head, making Paige take her hand back. "Well, I'm going to the library in about an hour." Spencer checked the clock before taking Paige's now empty plate to the sink. Paige smiled gratefully. Emily stood, taking her own plate to the sink.

"That's code for sex with Toby." Emily tossed over her shoulder smirking as Spencer's cheeks reddened. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly before she finally managed to find words.

"I have rage!" The tall brunette pointed threateningly at both the girls before storming from the room.

"I'm giving Aria a lift, I'll catch you guys later!" They heard Hanna shout.

"Make sure you've got the kiddy seat!" Spencer hollered back from somewhere within the house.

"I'm on it!" Hanna yelled back opening the door. Aria frowned and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I'm going to kill you both in your sleep." The door closed behind her, soon after there was the sound of a car engine fading in the distance. Paige swiveled around in her seat so her knees collided with Emily's. Emily opened her legs so one of Paige's was trapped between hers. Emily reached out and took one of Paige's hands, playing with her fingers.

"Your hair looks funny." Paige mused quietly, using her free hand to brush messy parts down where they should have been.

"Well some of us can't wake up looking as perfect as you." Emily replied, lacing their fingers together then pulling them apart before drawling light patterns on the back of Paige's hand.

"Please." Paige laughed at Emily's words. "It's too early for jokes."

"Not joking." Emily slid her fingers through the gaps between Paige's again, this time they stayed there. Emily lifted her head and smiled lightly at the other girl. Paige forgot how to breathe in that moment. "Movies at mine?" Paige nodded. "Come on."

The girls walked back up the stairs hand in hand. They found Spencer in her room, clearing up after their night.

"We're gonna head back to mine and watch some movies." Emily spoke as Spencer shook the duvet in the air before laying it back down onto the mattress. Spencer crossed her arms smugly.

"Code for sex?" Emily went fluorescent red, much similar to Spencer earlier. Paige scrunched up her nose and turned away from the two, gathering hers and Emily's stuff together. Emily reached over and grabbed one of the pillows Spencer had just plumped up before whacking the taller girl with it.

"Ow!" Spencer's voice high, her mouth agape. Emily placed her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side challengingly.

"If world war Spemily is going to commence can I leave first?" Paige mused. Spencer widened her eyes seeing that Paige had somehow gotten changed without either of the other two noticing.

"Shut up, we're leaving."

"Emily, you're in pajama pants." Emily looked down at herself.

"Well…" Emily tried to come up with a witty response. "I…"

"Go get changed, Em." Paige held out Emily's pants. Emily took them without a word and headed into the bathroom. Spencer chuckled as the door closed; she began sorting out the makeshift bed on the ground.

"You know, I should be like interrogating you or something right now?" Spencer looked to Paige for a second before carrying on. Paige swallowed thickly, Spencer Hastings was about to destroy her, she knew it.

"I'm not gonna hurt her again." Paige quickly responded, ready to fight for Emily this time. Spencer smirked softly.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have let you sleep in my house if I didn't trust you." Paige let out a sigh of relief.

"I really like her."

"I know you do, I can tell. We can all tell actually, it's pretty obvious." Spencer walked over to her wardrobe to stash away the spare duvets and pillows. "You just have to know that Emily's stubborn. She doesn't want to be protected but sometimes she needs it. When she's angry, she'll say she wants to be alone, but that's not what she needs." Spencer turned around to give Paige her full attention. "You need to be there for her even if she doesn't know that she needs you. Emily's different, she's kind of special."

Paige nodded she knew. She knew that Emily's friends cared for her more than anyone in the world and she knew what they'd do to her if she ever hurt Emily again. But she didn't plan on it; in fact it wasn't even a thing that'd crossed her mind. To her, Emily was a princess, she was fragile and good and everything amazing in the world. She was sweet perfect Emily.

"I know; you've got nothing to worry about."

"Good. I know where you live." Spencer grinned. Paige mirrored her expression. Spencer Hastings wasn't that bad.

"Okay, I'm ready." As if on cue, Emily emerged from the bathroom. "Thanks for having us Spence." Emily pulled the brunette into a tight hug. Spencer squeezed her best friend warmly.

"Have a good day." Emily pulled back and took Paige's hand almost automatically. Paige and Spencer exchanged a knowing smile and a brief wave before Emily pulled Paige out of the house and into the rain. They sprinted to the car and set off to Emily's house.

"I had fun last night." Paige spoke, almost to herself. Emily took her eyes off the road to look at Paige for a second; she had such a childlike glow of happiness around her it was so sweet. It made Emily feel so free.

"Me too."

"And your friends didn't attack me." Emily hummed.

"Our friends." Paige smiled. Emily's words warmed her heart in a way nothing else could. Then a thought ran through her mind and her building confidence faltered.

"What about my parents, your mom?" Paige felt the panic rising within her. "What if your mom doesn't like me? What if-"

"Would you stop?" Emily touched Paige's thigh tentatively. "My mom already loves you, you know that. Your parents have accepted you, right?" Paige nodded slowly. "So they'll accept that you're my girlfriend." Paige's head shot to the left. Emily's smile softened when she saw Paige's face.

"Girlfriend?"

"You had me at hello."

* * *

_Hello! So this is up a bit later than expected. I would've had it up yesterday if it wasn't for that episode. I'm being serious, i was crying, there were tears. It literally made me so happy. _

_Anyway, thanks to everyone that favourited and followed. Also, to all the reviewers, you are ANGELS! __I especially love the anon that's telling me to give up my personal life just to write this story, i laughed._

_I can't decide whether to end it there or not, so i'll decide by the next chapter whether i'm just going to write an epilogue or if i'm going to add a few more chapters. Thank you all for the feedback!_


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